The OG Jane Birkin Bag – The Bag that began as an everyday bag, after a conversation between French actress Jane Birkin and designer Jean Louis Dumas on a plane to Paris is up for auction. It is a well-used, roomy black bag in crocodile leather, and 40 years later, the design lives on. It even has stickers of two organisations that Jane Birkin supported – Médecins du Monde and Unicef. She used the bag for ten years, before she donated it to a charity auction in support of AIDS. It has changed several hands since then, landing in a private collector’s lap since then.
While this one was built to be functional as well as elegant, currently it is fashion history. As such, several Birkin owners don’t use their hallowed purchase, received after a slew of purchases at the Hermes store. Pop culture has made memes of folks who have even turned up with the Birkin bag in its dust bag covering. Currently, the fully-functional bag has society sanction to be used as everything, except its original use – to carry stuff.
How did we come so far?
The History of the Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin, actress, had become annoyed at the fashion of petite handbags at that time, feeling how they didn’t serve her purpose. She instead, opted for a wicker basket to carry all her things in the airport. Some of those things had fallen on Dumas, sparking a conversation with the latter on the paucity of options that were practical. Then Dumas did something revolutionary – he listened to her. And that’s how the Jane Birkin was born, in another example of how revolutionary things happen when men listen to women, as well as the success of fashion accessories designed to cater to women’s needs.
Hermès designed the bag and offered it to Jane Birkin, asking for it to be named after her. Now here’s the interesting bit – The original Hermes was a prototype, and it differed from the other Birkins made by the company for retail.
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Borrowed Elements
The bag designed for Jane Birkin had elements that were borrowed from a pre-existing Hermès model Haut A Courroies (HAC).
For one, it has shoulder straps attached to it. While now Birkin has two sizes, 35 and 40, the Jane Birkin bag was in-between these two sizes. While Jane Birkin’s bag has brass hardware, that was replaced with gold plated hardware and subsequently palladium, rose gold and ruthenium in newer variants. There are other minor details such as the zipper, bottom studs which vary from the current or any other model for that matter, making her bag unique. However, the most important detail is that it belonged to her, and came stamped with her initials. She carried the bag everywhere with her, and the well-used condition of her bag points to the heavy use Jane Birkin had for it.
Almost three decades since the first Birkin was invented, Sotheby’s is exhibiting the original Hermes Birkin handbag in Asia for the first time, from March 13 to 31, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Maison. It was previously exhibited from October 12 to 31, as part of the ‘Excellence a la Francaise’ exhibit. When the Birkin was first released in 1984, it was around $ 2,000. The first Birkin for commercial use was the Birkin 40 in chic calfbox. The design has remained virtually unchanged since then, with two rolled handles, a flap top and a lock closure that remains so sought after. Currently, the Birkin 40 is a rare one, released as limited-editions, and difficult to get a hold of. A Birkin 25 retails for $12,100 on average, almost a 6.1 percent increase over last year’s figures.
